NBA MVP Kevin Durant withdraws from Team USA

by Jay Dillon

The reigning MVP of the NBA and Oklahoma City Thunder forward announced Thursday that he will not be continuing his journey on Team USA.Kevin Durant issued a statement Thursday afternoon saying he decided to withdraw from USA basketball.Here's his statement: "This was an extremely difficult decision as I take great pride in representing our country. I know that I owe it to my USA Basketball teammates to be totally invested in the experience. After going through training camp with USAB, I realized I could not fulfill my responsibilities to the team from both a time and energy standpoint. I need to take a step back and take some time away, both mentally and physically in order to prepare for the upcoming NBA season. I will be rooting for USAB and look forward to future opportunities with them."Durant was the MVP of the world championship in 2010, leading the Americans to that title for the first time since 1994. The Oklahoma City star also started on their gold medal-winning team in the 2012 Olympics.His withdrawal comes less than a week after Indiana's Paul George was lost to a broken right leg and follows previous withdrawals by All-Stars Kevin Love, Blake Griffin and LaMarcus Aldridge, and NBA Finals MVP Kawhi Leonard.Information from the Associated Press was used in this report.